Drug use in adolescents has been growing drastically in the past 15 years, so that it is being recognized as a public health issue. Certainly, the sooner certain types of treatments are used, lower shall be the risk of drugs abuse. This article tries to display the existing treatments for chemical dependence through adolescence and has as its focus the motivational interview, a type of ambulatory treatment, characterized as a brief technique, applied in about 1 to 5 sections, mainly to cases of illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol. The technique has positives characteristics for its applicability through adolescence as the search for the patient intrinsic motivation, the non confrontation, non hostility, and the use of cognitive techniques to assist in the therapeutic process.
motivational interview; technique; psychotherapy; adolescents